#so byleth eisner is byleth fe or byleth fire emblem
Church of Seiros name etymology:
Wow, this was a demanding one to do. In general, most the forenames in the Church have a connection to saints or figures from the Abrahamic religions, while the surnames are similar to the names in the country they’re originally from. For the green haired gang, the origins of their names come from Egyptian, Greek and Irish mythology
Sothis-
- The Greek name for the Egyptian goddess Sopdet, the personification of the star Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Sopdet was related to the annual floods and was said to be a guide for deceased Pharaohs through the underworld, and later seen as a mother figure
Rhea-
- “flowing”, the name of the wife of Kronos, lord of time, and the mother of the first 6 Olympian gods in Greek mythology. In Roman mythology, a woman named Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
Seiros-
- derived from ‘Seirios’, meaning “scorching” in Greek. An alternative name for the star Sirius
Seteth-
- may originate from Seth, meaning “placed” or “appointed” in Hebrew. The third named son of Adam and Eve and ancestor of Noah. Also the name of an Egyptian god of deserts, storms, disorder and violence, and Isis (who was previously Sopdet) plays an important role in his most important myth. It’s also very similar to the Egyptian goddess Satis, an alternative spelling of which is 'Setet’. She was often conflated with Sopdet, and was a goddess of war, hunting and fertility, as well as a protector of the southern border
Cichol-
- the earliest mentioned Fomorian in Irish mythology, monstrous, hostile beings that invaded Ireland from the sea and enemies of the first settlers. Cichol is said to be the leader of the Fomorians, and his followers survived for 200 years by fishing and fowling. His epithet (Gricenchos) roughly translates to 'of withered feet’
Flayn-
- could come from Flann, meaning “red” in Irish Gaelic. Generally used as a masculine name and a friendly, cheerful nickname. May also be related to the name Finn, the name of the giant Fionn Mac Cumhaill, more commonly known as Finn McCool (a connection to Macuil)
Cethleann-
- another of the Fomorians. She was a prophetess and foresaw her husband’s death in battle. She also managed to wound the Dagda (Irish Zeus) with a projectile in said battle. She was known as 'Cethlenn of the Crooked Teeth’
Manuela Casagranda-
- Manuela: a feminine form of Manuel, originating from Emmanuel meaning “god is with us”.
- Casagranda: alternative spelling of Casagrande, meaning “big house” (probably meant to be a link to the Mittelfrank Opera House)
Hanneman Von Essar-
- Hanneman: a German name that comes from the Hanne, which is a diminutive of Johanne which has roots in John (why can names not be simple), meaning “YHWH is gracious”. John is the name of the man who baptised Jesus and also the Apostle who wrote the fourth gospel and Revelations in the Bible. Also an Irish surname, stemming from O'Hannagain, which is derived from the word 'Annadh’ meaning “delay”. Edit: I found out that there is a Hindu god called Hanuman, who is seen as a symbol of devotion, strength, intelligence and selflessness.
- Essar: derived from Isolde, the wife of Tristan in Arthurian legends, or the word 'ishild’ in German, meaning “ice battle”. I’m not sure if the names are connected, but there’s also a Turkish name, 'Eser’, meaning “ product, achievement”. Also sounds a bit like essay
Catherine/Cassandra Rubens Charon-
- Catherine: Originally comes from the name of the Greek goddess of magic, Hecate (Hekaterine ->Aikaterine -> Katherine), but in the Christian era the meaning became “pure”. Catherine is one of the great martyrs of Christianity, and the Emperor attempted to put her to death multiple times and failed each time until she accepted it herself. In that time she converted every person who met her to Christianity
- Cassandra: from the Greek word meaning “to excel, to shine”. In Greek myth she was a Trojan princess who was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but was cursed so no one would believe her prophecies when she spurned his advances
- Rubens: Portuguese form of Reuben, meaning “behold, a son” in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Reuben was the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel and was part of the plot to kill his brother Joseph, but tried to rescue him.
- Charon: translates to “fierce brightness”, the ferryman of the underworld in Greek mythology who took the souls of the dead across the Acheron river. (Could be a link to Catherine’s role as a Knight of Seiros, delivering justice(?))
Shamir Nevrand-
- Shamir: a masculine Arabic name with multiple meanings, like “sharp thorn, flint”, “precious stone”, “sentinel”. Comes from the Hebrew verb 'shamar’ meaning “to guard”. A material that King Solomon used to cut the stones to build the temple in Jerusalem
- Nevrand: An alternate spelling of Nevra, the Turkish form of Nawra meaning “flower, blossom” in Arabic
Cyril-
- a version of the Greek name 'Kyrillos’, meaning “lordly, masterful”. The name was borne by many important saints in Christianity
Gilbert Pronislav/Gustave Eddie Dominic-
- Gilbert: “bright pledge”, derived from the Germanic elements 'gisil’, meaning “pledge, hostage” and 'beraht’, meaning “bright”. The name of a 12th century saint who founded the religious order of the Gilbertines
- Gustave: French form of Gustav, which possibly means “staff of the Geats/Goths/Gods”, and has roots in an old Norse name, Gautstafr. Could also be from the Slavic name Gostislav, meaning “glorious guest”. Borne by many Swedish kings
(Also, Gustave Gilbert was an American psychologist who attempted to observe high-ranking Nazi officials during the Nuremberg trials)
- Eddie: Diminutive of Edward, meaning “rich guard”. A name given to many Anglo-Saxon kings, the last of which was canonised as At Edward the Confessor, patron saint of kings, difficult marriages, separated spouses and the British Royal Family. He was portrayed as a pious man
- Pronislav: an alternate spelling of Bronislav, which is the Russian/Czech form of Branislav and means “warrior” or “defender of glory”
Jeritza Von Hrym/Emile Von Bartels-
- Jeritza: I can’t find any concrete meaning for this one, so I’ll have to go off similar names instead (if anyone knows the real etymology, let me know). First is Yaritza, a feminine Spanish name that means “little butterfly”, but I don’t think this is very likely. Another name it could derive from is Jericho, a city in Israel mentioned many times in the Old Testament; while the meaning is unknown, it could stem from the Hebrew words yareach, “moon”, or reyach, “fragment”. There’s also the possibility that it’s related to the name George, meaning “farmer, earthworker”, as farmers tend to use scythes. I suppose it’s just as enigmatic as Jeritza himself
- Emile: from the Roman name Aemilius, meaning “rival”
- Hrym: From Thrym, a jötun in Norse mythology who stole Thor’s hammer and planned to extort the gods into giving him the goddess Freya as his wife. He was slain by Thor dressed as Freya (best Norse myth, go read it)
- Bartels: a short form of Bartholomew, meaning “son of Talmai”. Talmai comes from the Hebrew word for “furrow”, or is a Hebrew version of Ptolemy. Ptolemy was a mathematician, geographer and astronomer who proposed that the earth went round the sun, but it also means “war” (according to a source I found)
BONUS-
Byleth Eisner-
- Byleth: Beleth was the king of hell in demonology, and the commander of 85 legions of demons. They ride a pale horse and all kinds of music is heard near them, and they were said to be first conjured by Noah’s son to help him write a book on mathematics. Beleth is said to look fierce when first summoned to test the courage of the summoner, and one book says that the summoner should wear a silver ring on their middle finger on their left hand to pay respects to them. They had no specific gender (as far as I’m aware) and are also considered a demon of love and lust
- Eisner: a German/Jewish occupational name for and ironmonger (the chemical symbol of which is Fe)
Jeralt Reus Eisner-
- Jeralt: “ruler of the spear”, a variant of Gerald (not really much else to say. Straight to the point, just like the man himself)
- Reus: “giant” in Modern Dutch. One source also claims that it roughly translates to “the Russian” and was given to people who had travelled far away from there, but how true this is I’m not sure
